The District Attorney
by Amphia234
Summary: Rafael Barba is a no-nonsense, quick-witted D.A. Rhya Mace is a new addition to the Special Victims Unit team from the Little Rock PD. Follow her as she tries to juggle hiding her past, learning the rules of SVU, and control her growing feelings for a certain district attorney... ON HIATUS...
1. Chapter 1

**Set in my own SVU universe. Mostly follows/mirrors the real series. All street names are made up.**

 **...**

 **MARCH 21** **ST** **10:06 PM**

 **TAKAHASHI RESIDENCE**

"You're a little bitch, you know that?" Ren Takahashi slurred.

His wife cowered in the corner of the room, trapped. "Ren, please, you have to calm down." She made sure to keep her voice quiet as not to anger him further.

It didn't work. He growled and waved the bottle in his hand around before pointing it at her. "You think I'm stupid, don't you?"

"No, of course not!"

"Wearing a skirt to work, even shaving your legs! Who were you trying to impress?"

"Ren, you don't understand. All my pants were in the wash—"

"Shut up! You're a little whore." He leaned closer to her until their breaths intermingled. She gagged at the pungent smell of alcohol wafting from his mouth. "If you keeping dressing like a whore, you're going to be treated like one. You know what men do to whores, don't you?"

Her eyes were as wide as saucers but she squeezed her mouth shut. "Didn't you realize how distracting your clothes were?" His voice choked up as if he was in pain. "I'm only trying to protect you, baby. Why don't you ever listen to me?"

"Ren, I know you are and I'm—"

"Liar!" He shrieked.

"No, I'm not lying! Ren please let me explain!"

"You're a liar." He muttered. "And I don't like liars." His arm, and the bottle, were in the air. Ready to deliver swift, unexpected punishment.

Before she could respond,

Before she could scream,

The glass was colliding with her head.

And then there was black.

 **MARCH 24TH 6:28 AM**

 **SVU STATION**

Olivia Benson stared at the mile high stack of papers towering above her. There had been a flurry of intense rape cases she'd taken charge on, leaving little time for anything else.

She was backed up on paperwork.

She took one sheet off the stack and grabbed a pen, ready to dive in. "Name of department…SVU…"

"Lieutenant."

Her head shot up, eager to do anything but all these papers. "Carisi." Seeing him was like a breath of fresh air. "You need something?"

He nodded, stepping aside as a woman appeared from behind him. Her hair looked like a bird's nest and her cheeks were tear-streaked.

"Hello Lieutenant," She rasped, her voice like gravel. She sounded as if she had been screaming for a long time. "Can I talk to you?"

Olivia shoved the paperwork out of sight. "Of course. Come and sit down." She nodded at Carisi who took the cue and left, closing the door behind him.

"What can I help you with?" She asked, keeping her voice low.

"My name is Harper Takahashi." Olivia took a legal pad and pen, nodding as she wrote down the information. "And last night I was in the parking lot. And he just came and he—" Her voice caught in her throat and she shook her head as tears burst from her eyes.

Olivia nodded. "Take your time."

"It was quiet…and then…and then he was behind me..." She groaned before slamming her fist on the table.

Olivia flinched but made sure to keep her expression understanding.

"He _raped_ me." She clawed her hands through her hair, as she choked on sobs. "He got me…he got me…" Her voice quieted to a whisper.

Olivia scribbled _Harper Takahashi_ , hoping she spelled it right, a dash, and then _raped_.

"I know who did this to me." She murmured darkly.

Olivia blinked. It wasn't often that a victim knew who the assailant was. "Who was it?"

"My husband. Ren." Her face was scrunched in agony.

"How do you know it was him?" She wrote _Ren_ and _husband_ on the pad as well.

"Two…no…three days ago he was angry at me. I wore a skirt to work…"

Olivia's stomach clenched into a tight ball as she anticipated Harper's next words: _He was drunk. He hit me. He called me a whore._

"He was drunk…"

 _Check._

"He was angry… he hit me…"

 _Check._

"But…but before that…" Harper's hands were vibrating against the desk. "It's cold in here. It's cold in here right?"

Olivia had met many rape victims in her lifetime. Some of them internalized their suffering. Some expressed their pain openly.

Others unraveled.

Olivia took off her coat and offered it to Harper who snatched it. She shuddered. "Before that…he said…he said women who dressed like whores…"

Olivia leaned in a little, awaiting Harper to finish.

"Got treated like whores. You know what men do to whores don't you?" Her voice had taken on a sarcastic, mocking tone.

 _Check._

Harper shook her head as if a fly was buzzing around her. "He raped me because I was a whore." Her voice was crying.

"Harper, none of this is your fault."

"If I had just washed my pants…instead of being lazy…"

"Harper—"

"Okay!" She screamed. "I get it…it's not my fault."

Olivia decided not to push, instead going another route. "Do you mind if I ask you a few more questions?"

"Yeah…yeah, go ahead…" She eyed the window like she was planning her escape.

"Do you have any kids?"

Harper's face squished into pure anguish again. "No…" She choked, clutching herself.

"Do you have anywhere you can go where you know you'll be safe?"

"My apartment."

"But he—"

"I know but if I don't come home on time, he'll get suspicious. Anyway, he doesn't know that I know."

Olivia realized trying to argue with Harper was pointless. "Here, at least take my card, okay? Call me if you ever need anything. _Anything_."

 **MEANWHILE**

Rhya Mace stood outside the Special Victims Unit building, twiddling her thumbs.

Her new start.

Her chance to finally make a difference.

"You got this Rhya. You got this." She moved her hands to her sides and straightened herself a little. She had this.

As soon as she walked in, nobody noticed her.

The office was filled with people running around, preoccupied with their own affairs. A woman wrapped in a towel was crying as an officer assured her it was going to be alright. A police woman on desk duty, lazily spun a pencil around her fingers. A man was running across the room carrying a stack of papers.

 _Woah, sensory overload._

She loved it.

"Hey. Amanda Rollins. You must be Rhya."

She turned around to see a blonde woman smiling at her. She held out her hand. "Oh…uh hi…"

"Are you gonna leave me hanging?" She raised an eyebrow.

Rhya laughed as she shook her hand. "Sorry…"

"It's alright. So, how you liking New York?"

"Hey, you want cannoli?" She flinched as a man too young to have grey hair approached them. He had an almost ridiculously thick accent.

"Uh…"

Rollins rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "This is Carisi."

"Dominick 'Sonny' Carisi Jr. at your service." He bowed.

She giggled. "Nice to meet you," She curtsied, albeit a little wobbly.

"You must be Rhya. The transfer from Little Rock. You're a small town girl, eh?"

"Little Rock isn't what I'd call a small town, given that it's the capital of Arkansas."

He raised an eyebrow. "Arkansas?"

She tried not to take his skepticism too seriously. The stereotypes about Arkansas were something she was used to. And compared to New York City, Little Rock _was_ a small town.

"So why'd you leave anyway?"

She looked at Amanda who nodded. "Carisi, knock it off. Stop badgering her."

"It was just a question! What's wrong with being curious?"

"Curiosity killed the cat." Rollins countered half-jokingly.

"Ah." He shook his head but backed off.

"Follow me Rhya, I'll take you to Olivia. Don't mind Carisi, he's a little nosy." She chuckled at Carisi's indignant huff.

Amanda escorted her to Olivia's office and knocked as the door was locked. Rhya could see the Lieutenant talking to a disheveled looking woman. She gave Amanda a look that said _Shoo please_.

"Just give her a minute. She's busy."

Rhya nodded absentmindedly, watching Olivia doing her life's work. She couldn't see the woman's face but her hair looked like it had been tossed around by a tornado. Rhya could feel the anxiety seeping form the woman and through the window. She cringed, wondering what the woman had been through.

"You okay Mace?"

She smiled at the way Rollins used her last name. "I don't think I could ever handle being raped. The people you guys get here must be very strong."

"Yeah…"

After the Lieutenant wrote down a couple more notes, they got up. Olivia opened the door. "Rollins, can you take Harper to the hospital for a rape kit?"

"Um…uh…is she…?" The woman looked scared.

"Don't worry Harper, I trust her." Olivia assured. She reluctantly followed Rollins.

"Hi, you must be Rhya, come with me."

Rhya closed the office door behind her before sitting down at the desk. She noticed the intimidating stack of papers on it. "Don't worry, I'll get them done."

"Oh okay haha…"

"So, how are you doing?"

"Good, I suppose…"

"I understand you might be nervous but I can assure you that things are different here. Everyone in this building is treated equally."

Rhya's heart lurched at the direct allusion to the Little Rock PD. "I…uh…th-th-thank you…" She cleared her throat. "So, how can I help?"

"I want you to be part of this case, so you can see how we do things here."

"Really?"

"Yes."

After a bit of a silence, she spoke up. "What happened?"

"Her name is Harper Takahashi, she's a 34-year-old paralegal. She lives with an abusive husband. One day he tells her if she keeps dressing like a whore she's going to get raped. At 9PM she's leaving from work and someone catches her from behind. Holds a gun to her head before knocking her out. She comes to and she's been blindfolded and he's raping her. Then he throws her in his car, drives around for a while before throwing her out, she loses consciousness. When she wakes up and takes off the blindfold she is in the parking lot again."

Rhya stared at Olivia in horror. "Oh…oh my…oh my God…"

Olivia's gaze was sad. "I know. Trust me, I know."

 **...**

 **I love writing this story so much, hopefully I'll finish it :)**

 **Amphia234**


	2. Chapter 2

p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"Chapter 2 is up! Tell me what you think so far please! :)/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;".../strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"MARCH 24TH 7:00 AM/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; tab-stops: 153.0pt;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"HOSPITALspan style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 153.0pt;"Rollins stood by Harper as she lay on a hospital bed. Her expression was blank but Rollins knew better./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 153.0pt;""You alright?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 153.0pt;"She didn't look at Amanda, instead choosing to count the lines on the ceiling. "I can't believe he would do this to me just to make a point."/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Has he always been like this?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal""No. It started when our baby died." She whimpered a little and bit her lip. "He'd just drink and drink and then one day he started taking it out on me… I thought moving from Hoboken would give us a fresh start."/p  
p class="MsoNormal"She wrinkled her face. "It didn't. And then I found out I could never get pregnant again. It all went downhill from there."/p  
p class="MsoNormal"Before Amanda could attempt to comfort her, a doctor came in. "Hello Harper, are you ready?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal"She took a deep breath before nodding. "Yeah..."/p  
p class="MsoNormal""I'll just be outside, okay?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal"She left too early to see the tears rolling down Harper's cheeks./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"MARCH 24TH 7:15 AM/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"SVU STATION/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal"Rhya watched as Olivia stood over Carisi and the latest person she had met: Fin Tutuola. He was an unconventional cop but he seemed to have a good heart. They were checking Ren's records./p  
p class="MsoNormal""His only prior is public intoxication," Carisi murmured in a tone that sounded like disappointment./p  
p class="MsoNormal""He gets drunk, he rapes her," Olivia said. "We've seen this before, it's not that out there."/p  
p class="MsoNormal"Rhya frowned. How did they talk about such awful things so casually?/p  
p class="MsoNormal""What are you guys up to?" Rollins had come back./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Ren only has one prior. Public intoxication." Fin said./p  
p class="MsoNormal""That's just for New York, right?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal""What do you mean?" Carisi asked, interested./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Well, she told me they used to live in Hoboken. Maybe public intoxication is his only em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"New York/em prior. Check his New Jersey records."/p  
p class="MsoNormal"Olivia nodded. "Okay, that's a good start. Rollins, you and Fin try to find whatever you can about New Jersey. Rhya and Carisi, go talk to Ren Takahashi."/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Wait…m-me? Wouldn't you rather I stay here and search his priors?" Rhya was shocked Olivia trusted her enough to send her out on her first day on the job. She couldn't help but compare it to the Little Rock PD. They never sent her on anything./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Nope, Carisi will help you out. You need experience."/p  
p class="MsoNormal"Rhya nodded. "I won't let you down, Lieutenant."/p  
p class="MsoNormal"Olivia smiled./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"MARCH 24TH 7:34 AM/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"TAKAHASHI RESIDENCE/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal"Rhya began to twiddle her thumbs as they approached the Takahashi's apartment. She imagined him as an ugly, fat old loser. She heard Carisi chuckle./p  
p class="MsoNormal""What?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal""You look irritated." He knocked on the door./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Well, I am."/p  
p class="MsoNormal"The door opened and Ren appeared. He had jet black hair and brown eyes settled in a permanently cocky gaze./p  
p class="MsoNormal"She blinked when she realized he wasn't ugly at all. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"That's not fair/em. It was easier to imagine him as an ugly, monster. She pretended he had a wart just above his lip./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Good morning Mr. Takahashi. NYPD. Can we ask you some questions?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal"He shrugged and opened the door wider. "Sure, go ahead."/p  
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Cocky idiot./em/p  
p class="MsoNormal"When they were settled in the living room, Carisi began immediately. "Where were you March 23suprd/sup at 9PM?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal"He blinked. "What, you mean yesterday?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal"Carisi and Rhya looked at each other./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Okay, okay. Whatever happened then, it wasn't me."/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Give us an alibi." Rhya demanded. She was a little shocked by her boldness but made sure to keep it concealed. Investigations always brought out her daring, fearless side./p  
p class="MsoNormal""I was hanging out at a friend's house. From 8 to 10 PM."/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Does this friend have a name? Or an address?" Carisi asked./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Julia Beaumont. And she lives on 31supst/sup street. Apartment B. Room 28."/p  
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"This friend is a woman?/em/p  
p class="MsoNormal"After reading their expressions, he rolled his eyes and snickered./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"MARCH 24TH 7:53 AM/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"JULIA BEAUMONT RESIDENCE/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal""I was at a friend's house." Rhya mocked Ren, making sure to put "friend" in quotation marks. "Yeah, friends with benefits."/p  
p class="MsoNormal""You're all worked up," Carisi was grinning at her./p  
p class="MsoNormal""What?!"/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Reminds me of me when I first started, is all."/p  
p class="MsoNormal"Rhya knocked on Julia's door before Carisi could. She smirked at his amused expression./p  
p class="MsoNormal"A woman with her hair pulled into a ponytail opened the door. "Hi, can I help you two?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal"Carisi nodded at her to take the lead. "Are you Julia Beaumont?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Yep."/p  
p class="MsoNormal""NYPD. Can we ask you some questions?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal""I'm kind of busy, I'm playing with my children."/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Send your kids to their room. This is serious."/p  
p class="MsoNormal"She wrinkled her nose. "Fine. Give me a moment." She closed the door./p  
p class="MsoNormal"They waited a few beats before she opened again. They entered, careful not to step on the assortment of children's toys littered across the floor./p  
p class="MsoNormal""So, what is your relationship with Ren Takahashi?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal"She squinted at them. "He's my best friend."/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Was he at your house last night?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Yes, from 8 to 10 PM."/p  
p class="MsoNormal""What were you two doing for two hours?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"We were hanging out," After she saw their disbelieving faces, she continued. "Listen we aren't having an affair, okay? We kissed em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"once/em and it didn't feel right. We're just friends. We played cards, talked, watched TV."/p  
p class="MsoNormal""You're best friends with a wife-beater?" Carisi asked./p  
p class="MsoNormal"She growled. "He's not a bad person. No one is perfect, he's trying his best. And anyway that bitch doesn't appreciate him."/p  
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Yeah...Harper's the bitch./em/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Is there anyone who can corroborate your story?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Well…my kids I guess…?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal"After a couple more questions, they left. Rhya was utterly disgusted. "No wonder they're friends, she enables him."/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"MARCH 24TH 8:16 AM/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"SVU STATION/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Hey, what'd you guys find?" Olivia asked as Rhya and Carisi entered./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Ren's a cocky ass—sorry, I mean he's not a nice guy." In her peripheral vision she could see Carisi cracking up. She ignored him. "His alibi is that he was at a friend's house."/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Who is this friend?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal"Carisi raised a hand. "Julia Beaumont. She's kind of an enabler. She might be covering for him but we don't know for sure."/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Okay, so we called the Hoboken PD." Fin said./p  
p class="MsoNormal""They're going to get us the information as soon as they can," Rollins added./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Good work guys. I think we've got a case. Rhya, come with me, we're going to talk to Barba."/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Who's Barba?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal""He's the D.A."/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"[A/N: AAHHHHH! SQUEAL!]/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"MARCH 24TH 8:25 AM/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"D.A.'S OFFICE/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal""We're going to get him to take the case." Olivia said./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Rhya nodded in response as the Lieutenant opened the door./p  
p class="MsoNormal"A man sat in a chair. He was hunched over some papers, writing furiously. When he heard them enter, he turned./p  
p class="MsoNormal"He was wearing black suspenders. She found this oddly attractive./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Hi Barba, we have something for you."/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Go ahead," He eyed Rhya./p  
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"He has such intelligent eyes…/em/p  
p class="MsoNormal""This is Rhya Mace, she's new to the team."/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Ah…" He raised an eyebrow but said nothing. His scrutinous gaze pierced through her skin and into her soul. She felt as transparent as a glass of water. Obviously he knew. He knew she thought he was cute./p  
p class="MsoNormal"She looked away, settling on his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"D.A./em plaque. Avoiding his all-seeing eyes as Olivia explained the details of the case./p  
p class="MsoNormal""That's not enough," he said. "I need those New Jersey priors so I can cite a pattern."/p  
p class="MsoNormal""He abuses her and drinks constantly." Olivia said./p  
p class="MsoNormal""She never filed charges so legally it never happened. Public intoxication is bad but not a clear indicator of abuse and rape. Get me more and we can start looking at a case."/p  
p class="MsoNormal"She watched him in complete awe. He was so em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"smart/em. She blushed when she noticed he was gazing at her. Knowing exactly what she was thinking. Fortunately, her dark skin covered up the blood flowing to her cheeks./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Olivia countered him a little more but she knew he was right./p  
p class="MsoNormal""He's a little intense, eh?" Rhya asked as they left the courthouse./p  
p class="MsoNormal""No," Olivia sighed. "He's just Barba."/p  
p class="MsoNormal"A small smile formed on Rhya's lips./p  
p class="MsoNormal".../p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongAND FIN.../strong/p 


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3! Woohoo!**

 **...**

 **MARCH 25TH 7:00 AM**

 **SVU STATION**

Rhya felt like she was in the eye of the hurricane.

The SVU was working on Harper's case but there were many others to do as well.

A teacher assaulting students at an all-girls school. A woman raping her husband who was paralyzed from the knees down. A pregnant teen who claimed her uncle was the father.

Needless to say, she was deeply disturbed.

"We got Harper's results back," Amanda called. "Signs of tearing and entry but no DNA."

"He must have used a condom." Carisi murmured.

"Dammit," Rhya said. "Why is this so hard?"

"It wasn't this hard in Little Rock?"

She frowned. "Let's just say, I didn't get in on much action there."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing." She walked away before he could ask any more questions.

 **MARCH 25TH 9:31 AM**

 **ROBERTS AND JENKINS LAW FIRM**

Oliva had sent Rollins and Rhya to visit Harper. Hopefully to see if she remembered anything else that could help the case move along faster.

"NYPD, is Harper Takahashi here today?" Rollins asked the receptionist.

The woman nodded and pointed toward the left hallway. "Second room down."

When they got to the room, Rhya barely managed to stifle a gasp. Rollins held her back. "What the…"

Harper was in the arms of tall man with golden hair.

They were kissing.

"That's not Ren…" Rhya snorted.

"Come on Mace," Rollins rolled her eyes. "Let's walk back and pretend we just got here."

Rhya agreed and they took some steps backward. "Wow, I wonder if this is Harper's room." She said loudly so Harper would hear them coming.

"Yeah," Rollins joined in. "I think we might be lost." Rhya swallowed a giggle. "Stop being immature, Mace." Rollins whispered but she was smiling.

The man walked out. He nodded at them before brushing past at lightning speed. Inside the room, Harper was sitting down. "Hey Harper, you holding up alright?"

"As good as I can be."

"Who was the man?" Rhya asked. Rollins hit her arm. Fortunately, Harper didn't seem to notice.

"He's my boss, Jake Roberts."

"Okay, well we wanted to say the rape kit came back in."

"And?"

"No DNA but there was evidence of tearing and forced entry."

"…He used a condom, didn't he?" They nodded at her.

"Can we ask you some questions?" Rhya asked. She sat down on a chair.

"Sure…" Her eyes had dark circles around them that slightly disappeared when she yawned.

Rhya began. "We just want to know if you can remember any details about your attacker's appearance."

"He came up from behind me. You _know_ that."

"We understand but we just want to make sure you don't remember anything else."

"You think I'd forget what happened to me?!"

Amanda jumped in. "Of course not, it's just sometimes victims—"

She stood, her face flushed. "You know my husband did this to me!"

Rhya looked at Rollins.

Silent agreement.

And they backed off.

 **MARCH 25TH 8:00 PM**

 **JAKE ROBERTS RESIDENCE**

"Are you sure talking to her boss is a good idea?" Rhya asked Carisi as they approached Jake's front door.

"They're having an affair, she probably told him everything. Plus we don't have any hard evidence or witnesses, we need all the help we can get."

After knocking three times, a bathrobe-wearing Jake opened the door.

"NYPD, we need to speak with you."

"Oh…of-of course."

"May we come in?"

"Yes…yes! Come on in."

He treated them to glasses of water which they did not drink. "What is your relationship with Harper Takahashi?"

He looked her dead in the eye. "She's just my paralegal."

 _Right…_

She decided not to push it. "Have you noticed Harper acting different lately?"

"Is this about the rape?"

"What would make you think that?"

He swallowed. "She-she's my girlfriend…please don't tell her husband…"

"What else do you know?" Carisi asked.

"Her husband is abusive. I wanted to call police but she'd always beg me to stop. She wasn't ready to leave him." He groaned and put his head in his hands. "I know he did this to her. She told me he said she was going to get raped. And then she gets raped two days later…it was that son of a bitch…If I had just called the police… this would have all been prevented."

"Did you ever notice her husband around the workplace, maybe waiting for his chance?"

"No…I'm not sure. I spent the whole day in the office catching up on paperwork. I wouldn't put it past him though."

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Roberts."

As they got up, Carisi shook Jake's hand. "By the way, it wasn't your fault she got raped."

"Thanks," He said. It didn't seem to comfort him.

 **MARCH 26TH 7:45 AM**

 **SVU STATION**

"Hoboken PD called back. Y'all are going to get a hoot out these priors."

They gathered around Amanda who was chuckling. "Public intoxication, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and to top it all off drunk driving."

"There is no way this dude has a job," Fin said.

Carisi growled. "He doesn't, he has all the time in the world."

"Rhya go get a search warrant from Barba for Ren's apartment, that gun is there." Olivia said.

"Julia has to be covering for him." Rhya heard Carisi say as she left for The D.A.'s office.

 **MARCH 26TH 7:54 AM**

 **D.A.'S OFFICE**

Rhya was a fiddling with her thumbs as she neared Barba's office. She separated them only to knock on his door. She was going to talk to him…alone. The thought sent her gut churning and also stirred the butterflies in her stomach.

She entered after hearing a gruff: "Come in."

When he saw her, he remained unsmiling. Serious intelligence seemed to be his resting face.

"We have a case now. And we need a search warrant for Ren's apartment."

"You looked into his priors?"

"Yeah, sexual harassment, sexual assault, drunk driving, the dude's insane."

He nodded though it seemed to be more of an " _I can work with that"_ nod rather than a " _nice job"_ nod. "Alright, I'll get you that search warrant."

"Thanks…" She smiled wide. "A lot."

He blinked at her. A flicker of a smile flashed across his face before he hid it quickly by hunching over his desk again. "You're welcome." He murmured.

 **MARCH 27TH 1:20 PM**

 **TAKAHASHI RESIDENCE**

The entire SVU team was at the Takahashi's. It was a huge operation, at least 15 people stood in the thin hallway.

Olivia knocked the door. "What's going on?" Ren asked after noticing all the police officers.

Olivia showed him the search warrant. "We're searching your entire house. Move in everyone." They barged in past Ren who stood there, frozen, for a while.

Rhya noticed that Harper was in the kitchen, washing her hands. "Harper? Are you okay?"

Rhya approached her. She gasped.

Harper had a black eye and fresh bruises on her arms. Rhya looked at Ren who seemed agitated.

"What happened?"

The woman's eyes darted at Ren inadvertently. "I fell and hit my head on the table."

"Harper…"

"What? I-I'm clumsy!" Another look sent Ren's way.

After seeing Rhya's pleading eyes, she stopped lying. "Ren was angry because I went to the police to report the rape…"

"Hmm…" Calmly, she walked to the man and shoved his arms behind his back. "Ren Takahashi, you are under arrest for assault in in the 3rddegree. You have the right to remain silent..."

"Hey what? What are you doing?" He struggled but she cuffed him before he could escape.

"If you give up the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney."

"Assault? You have no proof!"

She continued, ignoring him and the other officers watching her. "If you desire an attorney and cannot afford one, an attorney will be obtained for you before police questioning."

As she walked him out the apartment, he muttered under his breath. _Bitch._

She chuckled.

 **...**

 **What did you think? Tell me in the comments :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 is a little short, sorry.**

 **...**

 **MARCH 27TH 1:58 PM**

 **SVU STATION**

Rhya stared at Ren through the double sided glass. He sat in the interrogation room, rolling his eyes and mumbling to himself.

"Look at him..." Harper said, crossing her arms. "He doesn't think any of this is serious. He thinks it's a joke."

"When Rhya gets in there, he'll start taking it seriously."

"Wait…what? Me? Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm sure." Olivia said, smiling. Harper looked at her curiously.

How did Olivia put so much trust in her? They had known each other for less than a week.

But she didn't say anything. She wasn't about to defy her Lieutenant. She walked in, as confidently as she could. Ren grunted when he saw her.

She slammed her hand on the table, startling him. "I have a question for you."

He blinked.

"Why did you beat her up for reporting the rape? You don't want her to get justice?"

"Okay, one, that's technically _two_ questions so…" After seeing the rage in her eyes, he chuckled and moved on. "Okay…but it's funny you bring up justice. That bitch thinks it's me and I never laid a hand on her."

Rhya looked at him in disgust.

"Okay fine. I rephrase that. I slapped her around a little but nothing she didn't deserve. She's going to have me arrested for something I didn't do! That doesn't sound like justice to me."

"Or…maybe you realized she was onto you." She leaned closer to him. He didn't flinch but neither did she. "She was finally ready to put you behind bars where you belonged. But you weren't going to let the little bitch do that were you?"

"No. I'm being wrongfully accused and I wanted to make sure it went through her thick skull."

"No…I think you're guilty. I know you're guilty. You know it too, that's why you dragged Julia into this, hunh? Getting her to cover for you?"

"Julia?"

"Yeah, your 'friend'. We've been following both of you. She's in the room next door and she's going to be thrown in jail for complicity." Rhya hoped he didn't catch her bluff.

"No way," He said skeptically.

"You think I was joking when I arrested you? You think I'm joking now?"

His face faltered. "She had no part in this. Leave her alone, please."

"You're willing to save her but not your wife?" Rhya clapped. "Wow, husband of the year!"

"Why are you doing this to me?! You can arrest me for assault or domestic violence but _not_ rape. I have _never_ , _never once_ raped my wife."

"Whatever you say." She scowled at him before leaving.

Olivia nodded at her. "Not bad."

"You scared him…" Harper whispered. "I've never seen him afraid."

Rhya frowned. "Olivia, I am not so sure he did it."

The Lieutenant frowned. "Of course he did it. He tells her "You're going to get raped" and 2 days later she does. He has the motive. He has the time and capability. And he has an enabling friend who can cover for him."

"We don't know that. We can't just arrest someone because…because…"

"Because I said so?" Harper asked. She didn't sound insulted.

"You're just like Stabler when he was starting out." Olivia gritted her teeth.

"What…?"

"Forget it. Just remember that here at SVU, we trust our victims."

Shoot. She'd done exactly what was trying to avoid. Surely, Olivia was too trusting. How you could put absolute faith into anyone? People you barely knew? "I...I'm sorry…" She didn't know if she was apologizing to Harper or Olivia.

Harper shook her head as Olivia walked away to attend to some business or other.

She was about to call after her boss when a man spoke from behind her. "Harper!"

Jake Roberts was there, irritation and sadness clear on his face.

"Jake!" Harper ran to him. Rhya stayed behind, watching with interest (albeit nosily).

"Jake, they just interrogated him."

"And?"

"The detective doesn't think he did it…and now, neither do I. I might drop the charges."

 _She's going to drop charges?_

He stared at her a moment before his face flushed beet red. "What is _wrong_ with you?!"

"I'm just not so sure anymore. You don't understand, he seemed _innocent_."

"The guy rapes you and you decide not to press charges because _he seemed innocent_?!"

"Jake—"

"Harper when will you realize he's going to kill you if you don't get away from him!"

She cowered, acquiescing to Jake's demands. "Okay," she whispered. "I won't drop charges…"

Rhya gaped.

 **MARCH 27TH 3:02 PM**

 **ARRAIGNMENT HEARING**

"How do you plead, Mr. Takahashi?" Judge Richardson asked as was standard.

"Not guilty, your honor. This whole thing is just ridiculous." Ren said. His defense lawyer shoved his arm.

"Ms. Parks, please control your defendant…prosecution what do you set bail at?"

Rhya smiled from the seats as Barba cleared his throat. "Seeing as Mr. Takahashi is a menace to society, citing his priors in New Jersey and here in New York, the People set bail at $50,000. Mr. Takahashi has family in Japan who can afford to buy him a ticket out of the country. He has the means and motive to leave."

Rhya had to restrain herself from applauding his beautiful spiel. _Bravo, bravo! Encore, encore!_

The defense lawyer grumbled. "That is simply an overreach. Mr. Takahashi hasn't spoken to his family in Japan in years. Takahashi is also unemployed and doesn't have the money to leave the country. He doesn't even have a car to leave the state!"

Judge Richardson nodded. "I agree Ms. Parks. Bail is set at $5,000 and Mr. Takahashi will remain at least 100 feet away from Ms. Takahashi at all times."

Rhya rolled her eyes. How absurd. Barba had done perfectly.

...


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5! Just so you guys know, chapter 6 will take a while because I haven't figured out the entire plot line of this story yet. Hopefully it won't take too long.**

 **...**

 **MARCH 27TH 4:08 PM**

 **KENNEDY CAFE**

Harper waited anxiously in the Kennedy Café. She hoped he'd hurry.

When he finally arrived, she smiled in relief. "I'm glad you made bail." She said.

"Julia got me out."

"That's…great!"

"Harper, I want a divorce. After I'm cleared of all these stupid charges, I'm leaving the city."

"I didn't want press charges, Ren! But Jake…he…he…"

"I don't really care, Harper. Anyway I'm not supposed to be within 100 feet of you so goodbye. I'll send the papers later this week."

He got up and left.

Harper grabbed her hand to stop it from shaking. "Oh no…what do I do…what do I…" She picked up her phone and dialed.

"Hello?"

"Jake."

"Yes baby?"

"I want to break up. I want to try and get my husband back."

There was silence.

"Where are you." He asked but it was more of a demand.

"At our usual meeting spot but—"

He hung up before she could finish.

After ten minutes, Jake was in the café. His eyes were wild. "Are you insane!?"

"Jake, please calm down!" He grabbed her arm and pulled her outside.

"I don't want to be with you anymore…I love my husband…"

"What the…" he looked away, upset. But when he looked back there was no more pain in his eyes. Just anger. "What the _fuck_ is wrong with you?! What do I have to do to get you to move on from him?"

She blinked. "What?"

He frowned. "What."

She took a step back. "What do you mean by that?" She whispered. "What did you have to do?"

His eyes widened as he realized his mistake. "Harper…I—"

"You monster…"

"Harper, I…I didn't do…I was just—"

Her suspicion were affirmed when she heard him stutter. Jake never stuttered. "I knew it wasn't him!" She screamed and ran away, hoping to reach her car in time.

She could hear his heavy steps chasing after her. "Harper! Get back here!"

"Help!" She screamed.

A good Samaritan walking nearby put his foot out. Jake tripped and fell. Harper didn't see this but when she looked back, her rapist was on the floor swearing and cupping a bloody nose.

She kept running.

 **MARCH 27TH 4:23 PM**

 **SVU STATION**

"It wasn't Ren! You were right!" Harper burst into the SVU building in hysterics.

She slumped in Rhya's arms, sobbing. "What happened? What's wrong?"

"It was _Jake_! It was him! He…he….he did it!" She was too out of it to explain in full detail.

"What's going on?" Olivia asked, running out of her office.

"Jake!" She wailed.

"How do you know?" Rhya asked, alarmed though not completely surprised. Harper just kept crying.

Without any more hesitation Olivia began giving orders. "Rollins! Fin!" The two looked up from their desks. "Go find Jake Roberts. Arrest him for rape."

"Where is he?"

"Probably the Kennedy Café…or his house…" Harper whispered, trying to wipe her tears. She rested her head on Rhya's shoulder.

Olivia nodded. "Get the addresses from Harper and find him. Carisi, come with me. We'll search his office."

Rhya stayed behind to comfort Harper who laid her head on her lap, shivering. She clutched to her like a baby to its mother.

She couldn't imagine what it was like to be abused by your husband and then raped by the man you thought you could find solace in. No wonder Harper was so out of it.

After 20 minutes of rocking Harper, she got a text. "Rollins and Fin apprehended Jake trying to leave his house."

Harper cried harder.

….

"So…Jake, can you tell us what happened?" Rollins and Fin were interrogating him.

"She wanted to try and get him back, she's insane…" He looked at the double glass as if he could see Harper through it. "You're _insane_."

"Well, I get it…" Rollins said taking the good cop approach. "He abuses her and she meets a great guy like you, and she still won't leave the douchebag."

"I treated her right. That devil she had for a husband didn't deserve her…"

Harper inhaled sharply, muttering to herself. "But I suppose you do?"

"You had to make sure she never wanted to be with him ever again, right?"

"She told me what he said about being raped…" Tears began to flow down his face though Rhya suspected they were of the crocodile kind.

"So…you decided that if she got raped, she'd think it's him and you two could be together?"

His face went dark. "Yeah but the dumb bitch wouldn't do it. He says he's going to divorce her and she wants to dump me so she can try and get him back? Who does she think she is?"

Fin stepped in. "You're going to jail for a long time you sick bastard."

"He was right about one thing," Harper murmured softly. "Ren isn't what I need right now. Or ever. I'm going to let him divorce me and then I'm leaving New York. It wasn't the fresh start I wanted."

"Are you going to testify?"

"Yes," Harper began to cry again. "I'm so tired of being called a bitch."

"Mace, go get a search warrant for Jake's apartment." Olivia said.

 **MARCH 27TH 5:35 PM**

 **D.A.'S OFFICE**

Rhya opened the District Attorney's door. "Hi," She said.

"Hello," He said, moving away from his ever-present paperwork.

"It wasn't Ren."

His expression didn't change.

"It was the boss. He wanted to pin it on him."

When Barba leaned back in his chair, her heart fluttered a little.

She continued. "They're both controlling freaks. She thought she could seek refuge in Jake but in some ways, he was worse than Ren."

He watched her for a while before speaking. "You're disturbed aren't you."

She didn't say anything this time.

"You get used to it. And you grow to love the job." He got up and approached her. Their faces were a foot apart.

"You love your job?"

"It's good work. We're helping people."

"These people are being violated."

"People are going to be violated no matter what, that's why we're here. So we can get them justice."

Justice. She didn't know if she could handle this justice anymore. Harper's rapist had been caught but she was still traumatized. She was still scarred. She was never going to be the same again.

Justice.

A tear rolled down her cheek. He wiped it away gingerly. "Rhya, do you want to grab a drink? And maybe talk about something other than SVU?"

She nodded vigorously.

"Aright, let's go. I'll leave early tonight." He grabbed his briefcase and closed the door behind them.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"A bar of course." He said.

That wasn't exactly what she had meant but that was okay. She smiled half-heartedly.

...


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for the long time to update. I knew it would take a little while but I didn't expect it to take so long. Next update will hopefully be shorter. Also, some more Rafael/Rhya interaction will be coming up in the following chapters! :)**

…

 **(FRIDAY) MARCH 27TH 6:30 PM**

 **FOURSQUARE BAR**

A/N: By the way, this story is purely fictional. Anything about the Little Rock PD is made up and not necessarily true.

"I like SVU a lot better than Little Rock already," Rhya said.

Rafael looked at her inquiringly. "Why?"

 _Oh shoot._ She realized she'd given him a way into her past. "I-I'd rather not talk about it." He stared into her eyes which bothered her because then he'd know what she was thinking. She looked down at her Shirley Temple and tried to change the topic. "So…how did you get into these types of cases?"

He chuckled. "We're so bad at this."

"At what?"

"We're supposed to be talking about anything other than 'the job', remember?"

"Oh…right…so what's your favorite color?"

He seemed a little amused by her question. "I don't know. What about you?"

"Blue."

He grinned at her, getting it. "That's nice."

….

For the rest of the time spent at the bar, they talked about arbitrary things like dogs and flowers. She didn't mind though, it was wonderful to be with him.

When it got late, Barba drove her to her apartment. "Bye Rafael!"

"Bye," He waved.

Before she entered the building, she paused. Then she turned around and hugged him. Caught off guard, he stumbled and nearly lost his balance.

"Thank you for distracting me." She whispered before letting go of him and leaving as quickly as she had come. He didn't even have enough time to hug her back.

"Y-you're welcome." He stuttered as she ran into her apartment complex. He smiled just a little bit as walked back to his car.

 **(SATURDAY) MARCH 28TH 10:40 AM**

 **MACE RESIDENCE**

Rhya opened her eyes groggily. She got out of bed at a speed even a snail could beat, and walked to the kitchen to get breakfast.

As she sat on her couch, eating a bowl of cereal she couldn't help but think about Barba and last night. Was it a date? Surely it wasn't. She hugged him but that didn't make it a date…right?

She yelped when her phone began to ring. _Was it Barba?_ _Oh wait, he never got my number! I wish I had given it to him…_

As soon as she picked it up, Olivia began to talk. "Rhya, I need you to get down here, _now_."

"Why? What happened?"

"You have work, don't you?"

Rhya frowned in confusion. "What…it's Saturday…?"

"Crime doesn't break for the weekend, Mace." Then Olivia hung up.

"Oh shoot!" Rhya raced around the house, trying to get ready in five minutes. She brushed her teeth while throwing on her office clothes. After another glance at the clock, she realized she would just have to skip a shower today.

Work on a Saturday? Never had she worked on a Saturday in Little Rock. She wondered if Olivia would make her work Sundays too.

 **(SATURDAY) MARCH 28TH 11:36 AM**

 **SVU STATION**

When she arrived at the station, everyone she knew was staring at her weird.

"Mind explaining why you're five hours late?" Rollins snickered as she approached her.

Rhya huffed. "I thought Saturdays were break days."

"No one told you your schedule?"

"I guess I just jumped right into the action…"

"And they didn't make you work on Saturdays in Little Rock?"

"No…"

"Why? Do all the criminals just sleep in on weekends? I'd love to work for the Little Rock PD."

"Shut up." Rhya grumbled while Rollins just laughed at her.

When she went to Olivia's office, the Lieutenant looked irritated. "You're late."

"I'm sorry, they didn't make me work weekends in Little Rock. I didn't know I was supposed to be here."

"That doesn't even make sense. If all the officers took a break on the weekends then criminals would just commit crimes on the weekends."

"Well, not _all_ the officers took breaks. Just some of us." Rhya added quickly.

"Why did you get a break and not the others?"

Rhya blinked and thought about it. It wasn't like she had superiority or experience. Why did _she_ get the breaks?

She growled. "They just wanted to keep me from work. They tricked me."

Olivia sighed and looked at her in sympathy. "We missed you this morning. Please come to work at 6:30 AM every day unless you're cashing in your vacation days, alright? I'll give you a pass on this one."

"Thanks Olivia."

The Lieutenant nodded.

-SCENE BREAK-

 **(SATURDAY) MARCH 28TH 11:58 AM**

 **SVU STATION**

Cara Marquina ran across her grandparents' backyard. Abuela watched from the swing chair, knitting a new scarf for her grandchild.

Abuelo picked Cara up and twirled her in the air, laughing. Cara giggled. "You are the best Abuelo ever!" He spun her in circles, ignoring his old, creaky back.

After using up his energy, he set her down, blowing out an exhausted breath. "Would you like to do something for Abuelo?" He panted.

"Sure!" She didn't seem to realize how tired he was.

"Okay mijita, go inside to the kitchen, open the cupboard and you'll find a treat. Abuela can help you."

Cara's eyes widened in delight. "Cookies!"

Abuela set down the scarf and held out her hand. Cara ran and intertwined her small fingers with her grandmother's.

Abuelo labored after the two. "Hey, wait for me!" He called. "I'm not as young as I used to be."

Abuela grinned at Cara wickedly before picking up the pace so Abuelo couldn't catch up.

"Ay!" He stopped trying, choosing instead to sit on the grass and lay down dramatically.

"We'll bring him some cookies," Abuela said to Cara who was beside herself with laughter.

….SCENE BREAK…

 **(SATURDAY) MARCH 28TH 6:02 PM**

 **HAMILTON AVENUE**

Cara sat in the front seat of her mother's A32 Nissan Maxima. She was too small to see out the front window so she kicked her seat instead.

This irritated her mother who put a hand on her daughter's leg to still her. "How was Abuelo's?"

"It was so much fun!" Cara exclaimed.

"Oh really?" Her mother asked disdainfully though her daughter didn't notice.

"Yeah! He got me cookies and we watched TV and talked and Abuelo fell asleep and then Abuela played go fish with me,"

"What did you two talk about?"

Cara frowned, realizing her mistake. "Uh…about school." She bit her lip.

"¿¡Me estás mintiendo?!"

Cara winced. "I'm sorry mama, actually we talked about…me."

"What did Abuelo say?"

"He said that one day I would get to live with him and Abuela…" Cara hoped her mother wouldn't get angrier.

The woman clenched the steering wheel, her knuckles turning white.

Then right in the middle of the road, the car came to screeching halt.

"No…no…no! Argh! Dammit!" She pounded the steering wheel.

"Are you okay mamá?"

"Shut up!" Cara's mother stormed out the car, clutching herself as a slow chill breezed by. She took out her phone and called the only person she knew would help her.

"Hello?"

"Enrique, get down here, _now_."

Cara slumped in her seat, wishing she hadn't angered mama so much. She also wished Enrique didn't have to come. He was big and scary and smelled like molted leaves and cigarettes.

Ten minutes later, Cara watched as Enrique's loud car bounced down the street. After stopping, he got out and inspected the situation. "Hi Dulce. I see your has broken down again."

"Can you fix it?" She asked as she crossed her arms.

"I can hotwire it." He suggested.

"Oh baby, you're my hero!" Dulce gushed.

He shrugged. "But the kid needs to get out the car," He said. "Not safe for her to be in there."

"You heard him," Dulce ordered.

Cara scrambled out the car. The wind snapped at her legs and hair. As Enrique lifted the hood and Dulce showered him with adulation, Cara stood there in the cold.

She wished she had a jacket.

...

Tell me what you think so far!


	7. Chapter 7

**I've noticed this story has gotten somewhat of a comical aspect, deviating slightly from the normal intensity of the show. Rafael also isn't as serious all the time like he is in the series. You guys don't mind, do you? I've found it difficult to mimic the show exactly.**

…..

 **(SATURDAY) MARCH 28TH 7:21 PM**

 **SVU STATION**

Rhya smiled lovingly at her new desk. It was pretty old, and mud-colored, and was placed right in the middle of the station—but it was hers. She rubbed the worn etchings on the MDF, staring at it in a way that could only be described as veneration.

"Helloo, you got a call." Rollins handed her a cell phone. She was smirking.

"What?" Rhya asked absentmindedly.

Rollins grinned and thrust the phone into her hands before running off in a hurry. "Enjoy!"

She tentatively brought the phone to her ear. "H-hello? Who is this?"

"Rafael. Barba." The voice answered, sounding the teensiest bit awkward.

Her heart swelled with joy and she immediately stopped playing with her desk. "Hi…"

"Um…this isn't protocol…so if anyone walks by, pretend we're talking about a case." He said.

She laughed out loud and then immediately stopped so as not to look suspicious. "How are you?"

"I'm good, I just wanted to say last night was…it was…nice…" _Oh my heart!_ She thought, unable to contain her grin.

"R-really? I mean…I liked it too…I…uh..." An officer was nearing her desk so she switched topics. "Basically, the woman was attacked in an alley but was able to catch a glimpse of her assailant's face…"

"Smooth," Rafael quipped. The sarcasm in his voice was so slight she almost didn't realize what it was. She was glad he couldn't see her face heating up. "Anyway," He continued. "I wanted to know if you were interested in another outing?"

Her heart nearly exploded with elation. It was all she could do to not scream. "Yes…yes I would love to!"

An officer looked at her funny. She tried to play it off. "…I would love to find out who did this to her! And when we catch the bastard, we'll lock him up for good."

Barba was silent before she heard a chuckle escape his lips. She loved his chuckle. "Again, smooth."

She giggled a little. "When would this outing be?"

"How about now?" He asked.

She blinked. "W-what?"

"I'll leave early today." She smiled. This would be the second time he was willing to leave work early for her.

"Okay, I will try and persuade Olivia to let me go but no promises."

"Good, because you are not going." Rhya flinched. She turned to see Olivia standing over her.

"No promises on catching this guy. He's very elusive…" Rhya sputtered out.

Olivia blinked. "No."

"Um…Barba, I can't leave. I have work. I'm sorry."

"Oh…uh…yeah that's okay…" He sounded a little saddened which made her heart twist inside out. He hung up to her disappointment.

"You need to take this job more seriously. You came to work 5 hours late, you don't get to leave early."

Rhya realized how unserious she must have appeared to Olivia. She vowed to never come to work late again.

"Hey, guys…" Carisi approached, a woman and a little girl at his side.

…

 **(SATURDAY) MARCH 28TH 7:57 PM**

 **CHILD PROTECTION AND SERVICES CENTER (CPSC)**

"He sexually abused her?" Olivia asked, her signature pen and legal pad in hand.

Dulce Marquina nodded, tears falling down her cheeks. "He is el Diablo. I picked her up from his house, I am looking for a job and needed a babysitter. My bubbly little girl is quiet, she isn't talking. I ask, mija what's wrong? She says abuelo touched me in a bad place."

"Did she explain any further?" Carisi asked.

"No, I didn't want to make her relive it. I drove down here immediately.

"Alright, thank you Ms. Marquina." Olivia said, standing up. "I'll go get Cara."

When Olivia was gone, Dulce looked at Carisi oddly. He figured she was upset about the situation. "We're going to give him what he deserves, Ms. Marquina." He said to try and reassure her.

She smirked at him. "Oh really?"

"Of course…" He said. "We're going to send that bastard behind bars."

"What's your name?" She asked, switching the subject rather abruptly.

"Officer Carisi. Dominick 'Sonny' Carisi."

"Hmm…" She sounded kind of like she was purring.

Carisi frowned. "Is everything alright, Ms. Marquina?"

"You can call me Dulce if you like."

"Right…Ms—I mean Dulce—are you alright?"

"You're really cute." She whispered, eyeing him like a lion watching its prey. "Has anyone told you that before?"

He swallowed, hoping the others would come soon.

 **MEANWHILE** **CPSC KIDS PLAYROOM**

Rhya smiled at Cara who was quietly playing with some toy trucks. She refused to play with the doll, it had been discarded on the floor. The doctors had explained to Rhya that she was supposed to ask Cara where on the doll she had been touched but Cara refused. She wouldn't even look at the thing.

Rhya decided to engage in a different conversation since she wasn't getting anywhere with the doll. "You like trucks?"

The 8-year-old nodded. "My papá was a truck driver. He let me honk his horn for my birthday last year." She thought for a while before adding more. "He's dead now. Mommy found him in the tub and he had drawn on his wrists."

Rhya stifled a stunned gasp. "Oh…?"

"Yeah, I was sad but it's okay. Abuelo says he's in heaven with Dios." Cara crashed the trucks against each other like they were fighting.

"Abuelo? You like your Abuelo?" Rhya inquired seizing the opportunity.

The girl hesitated and bit her lip. "N-n-no."

"Why not?" "Because…because he is too touchy."

Rhya picked up the doll. "Can you point to where on the doll?"

Cara shook her head vigorously. "No. No dolls."

Rhya sighed and patted the girl's hand. "Alright, sweetheart." Cara looked at her with big eyes. Then without a word she got up and hugged her.

Taken aback, Rhya didn't hug back for a few beats. _She is probably in need of some comfort._ Rhya thought. She pulled her into an embrace and stroked her long, black hair. She felt awful for the poor girl.

Then the door rapped a couple of times. Rhya saw Olivia through the window. "Alright, sweetie, let's go now." The girl threw up her arms to signal she wanted to be carried. Rhya obliged, picking her up as Cara wrapped herself around the detective, nuzzling her head into her shoulder. When they got out of the playroom, she noticed that Olivia had an odd look on her face.

 **(SATURDAY) MARCH 28TH 8:13 PM**

 **CHILD PROTECTION AND SERVICES CENTER (CPSC)**

They walked to Carisi and Dulce who were standing outside the office. "Oh great, you guys are here." He said relieved.

"Someone is happy to see us," Rhya teased, giving Cara back to her mother. She didn't hear the girl's small whimper.

"Hi Ms. Marquina." A doctor approached the group. "If you would, follow me and we'll just do some tests, okay?"

"Oh…okay…" Dulce said.

"Make sure you guys stay away from him." Olivia said, handing Dulce her card. "Call if you ever need anything."

As the woman carried her daughter away, Olivia turned to Rhya. "You should beware of growing too attached to the children involved in these cases."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't get too attached because sometimes it doesn't work out." Olivia repeated before walking away.

"You okay, there?" Carisi asked.

"I am not so sure I still want to work on this case."

"Why?"

"I don't like it. She's just a kid!"

"You know that's not how it works, Rhya." Carisi said. Rhya looked down. "Also, there's more where that came from."

Rhya felt the overwhelming feeling of horror washing over her again. "That's what I'm afraid of."

 **(SATURDAY) MARCH 28TH 8:45 PM**

 **MARQUINA [DULCE] RESIDENCE**

"Did you say what I told you?"

"Yes mamá." Cara whispered.

"Good girl." Dulce patted her daughter like she was a pet.

Cara squirmed from her touch. "Why did I have to say that about grandpa? I love him…"

"Your grandpa is a bad man. You trust mamá to do what's best for you, right _mija_?" Cara nodded and bit her lip.

Someone knocked on the door. Dulce rushed to it, pushing up her bosom.

She opened it to Enrique. "Hi baby." Cara looked away as she saw their heads connect. After some minutes of loud slopping noises, she heard them separate with a pop. They went to the couch where they continued to kiss.

Cara didn't want to watch them wrestle on the couch so she ran to her room. After squiggling under the blankets of her bed, she shut her eyes tight. She wished Abuelo was here to sing Eres Tu in his awful singing voice and that Abuela was here to rock her until she fell asleep. She hoped she'd get to live with them soon.

 **Something weird happened with the formatting, sorry guys. I fixed it though.**


	8. Chapter 8

**This is more of a filler chapter...**

**(SUNDAY) MARCH 29TH 6:29 AM**

 **SVU STATION**

Rhya rushed into the SVU Station just as the clock struck 6:30 AM. She grinned. "Right on time!"

Olivia rolled her eyes though a small smile played at the corner of her mouth. "I need you to search into Cara's grandfather. Go."

Rhya sat at her desk and began to type. Then she realized that she had no idea what she was doing. Search into Cara's grandfather? How did she even begin? "Uh…"

"You need some help, Mace?" Rollins asked, approaching her desk. As usual, she was smirking.

"Stop laughing at me."

Amanda smiled. "Okay, Mace, what do you need?"

…

Rhya was appreciative of Rollins' help. Within a timespan of just 15 minutes, she had found what they needed. Being honest, she had actually just searched through a bunch of databases but that was a step further than what Rhya could have done.

"Okay, this is the Immigration Records. Just search Jose Marquina. Or just Marquina."

"How do you know he's an immigrant?"

"I don't," Rollins said. "I just go through every possible database. Immigration Records are a good place to look when you've already searched through criminal records and whatnot."

"Okay," Rhya murmured as she typed in the name and pressed enter. "It says here that…he's from Colombia…"

"Great," Rollins said, taking over the keyboard. "Now we search here…and then here…" Rhya had no idea what Amanda was doing but soon enough, Marquina's profile picture popped up.

"…he came from Colombia with his wife, Maria, in 1975…he was 20 and she was 18…that's crazy young. And they were already married?" Rhya tried to remember if she was mature enough at 20 to have gotten married. _I was mature enough but I was too busy at the Police Academy_. "It says here that they moved to Pasadena, California—mental note to search into California records—and then they moved to New York shortly after." "No priors?" Rhya asked. "At all?" "Nope, but it doesn't mean anything." After seeing Rhya's somewhat skeptical face, she continued. "Trust me." "Maybe we should go talk to his wife, Maria. See what she knows." "Not a bad idea," Rollins said. "Hows about I do it?" Carisi asked, appearing out of nowhere. Rollins didn't even flinch. "Why? I can do it." She snorted, crossing her arms. "To make sure you get a break. You go next time." He said. Amanda could see something was eating Carisi but decided not to push it. "Okay, sure." She eyed him though he wouldn't meet her gaze.

 **(SUNDAY) MARCH 29TH 6:51 AM**

 **MARQUINA RESIDENCE (JOSE AND MARIA)**

Carisi knocked on Jose and Maria Marquina's door. It didn't open. "She probably isn't home. Maybe church?" Rhya suggested. Carisi looked at her. "Rhya, do you want to know why I really wanted to come?" "Sure." "Rollins and Olivia are 150% certain that Jose did it. But I'm not. Something is…off y'know? Dulce in particular. I felt like you'd understand a little more, even if you disagreed." "If I told Olivia, she would tell me off. I get that there's a possibility but my gut doesn't like it." "I see what you mean. I feel like something's a little off with Cara too. Though it might just be because she's been abused." Rhya added. Carisi nodded though he was no longer looking at her anymore. "Look, a neighbor." A man was in the front yard across the street, gardening. "Maybe he can help us." When the man noticed them approaching, he stopped shoveling at the ground. "Can I help you?" "Yes, NYPD." Rhya said, showing her badge. "Do you know where Maria Marquina is?" He frowned. "She's at Mass. Leaves at 6 AM every Sunday to help out." "When does she come back?" "Probably 1 PM." "1 PM?" Rhya asked, incredulously. Carisi nodded as if this was normal. "She's so…involved…" "Could we ask you some more questions…uh…what's your name, sir?" "Carlos and what's going on?" He squinted at them. "Why are you here?" "Well—" "I didn't do anything, okay? However told you that is a liar!" "We understand Carlos. This isn't about you. It's about Jose Marquina." Rhya interjected. As soon as _Jose Marquina_ escaped her lips, a wide grin swept across Carlos' face. "Jose…oh…such a wonderful man. Always providing food for the new families in the neighborhood. He held a party for me when I moved in. He is also very good with children, my kids love him." Carisi seemed unnerved by Carlos' admiration. "And his daughter, Dulce?" The smile immediately disappeared from the man's face. "What do you want to know?" "What do you know about her?" Carlos snorted. "She doesn't belong in the Marquina family. They are such good people…and then there is her." "What do you mean?" He looked around before responding. "She used to live with them before she moved out some years ago. Her girl was super young. Rumor is she hit the kid." "As in, abuse?" Rhya asked. Carlos nodded. "I didn't believe it at first, they're just rumors y'know? But one day I'm out here and I here screaming and crying from the house. I run and knock. The door opens. It's her, she smiles all sweet at me. In the background her kid is on the floor, she's crying and she's got bruises. When the woman sees that I've noticed she just slams the door." "Did you report this?" "I was going to call the police but I realized that wouldn't get us anywhere. They'd just send the kid to foster care and that would be worse, trust me, I've been there. Fortunately, her parents arrive right then. They get out of the car and I tell them what happened. The next day, she's moving out." "So why is Cara still under her care?!" "What I think happened is that they told her off and she got angry. So she moved out _with_ the kid. And what could they do…the witch has custody." "And you didn't do anything?" "I already told you, foster care is worse." Rhya was about to berate him even more when she saw the pain in his eyes. He was staring at the ground. She switched subjects. "When was this?" "I don't know…three years ago?" "Thank you, Carlos. This was a great help." Carisi said. The man just nodded. As they left, Rhya looked at her colleague. "Should we be looking into Jose or Dulce?" "We can't tell this to Olivia yet." He murmured. "Just until we find some more information, more evidence." "We have to come back at 1 and hope Maria is home."

 **(SUNDAY) MARCH 29TH 7:23 AM**

 **SVU STATION**

"So, what did y'all find?" Olivia asked upon their arrival. "Nothing, she wasn't home. Probably at church." The Lieutenant sighed. "Well, we need to talk to her. Call Dulce and get Maria's number" Rhya nodded. "But…what is her number again?" Carisi scratched his neck. "I-I have it. Just give me a moment." Rhya and Olivia shared a glance, wondering why he had Dulce's number. "Why do you have it?" He just shook his head. "Here, it's dialing." Olivia gave him another look before leaving. "Tell me what she says when you're done." After some beeping, the phone answered. Rhya flinched when Dulce's voice screeched out the phone. "What is wrong with you?!" She screamed. Then in a softer voice she spoke to Rhya. "Uh, hello Dominick. Give me a moment alright?" Rhya didn't speak though she stared at Carisi. He wouldn't look at her. He was very skittish today. "I leave for work and when I come back you are _here_ …with this woman!" A man in the background protested. "First, you don't have a job! And second, you only call me when you need to hotwire your car. You don't care about me." Dulce gasped dramatically. "We are _over_ Enrique! Over!" Dulce returned to the call. "What did you need, Dommie?" Rhya frowned. "Yeah, this isn't Dommie. This is Rhya Mace. Could you please give us your mother's phone number?" "Oh…why are you using his phone? Are you his girlfriend?" "Wh-what?" Rhya sputtered. "N-No! I'm a detective working on your daughter's case. We would like to speak to your mother." "Oh. Okay." Dulce proceeded to say the digits as Rhya scrambled to find a pen to write them down. "Yup…thanks Ms. Marquina." "It's Dulce. My mother is Ms. Marquina." She hung up on a bewildered Rhya. Carisi who had overheard the entire conversation seemed alarmed. "Let's just call Maria, shall we?" He nodded and took the phone from her, deciding to make this call himself. He shook his head. "She isn't home. I guess we have to go at 1 PM." 


	9. Chapter 9

**Formatting doesn't like me so excuse the huge space breaks...**

 **(SUNDAY) MARCH 29TH 1:03 PM**

 **MARQUINA RESIDENCE (JOSE AND MARIA)**

Rhya knocked on the Marquina residence lightly. The door looked quite frail and she was afraid of breaking it.

She could hear shuffling noises from inside before the door creaked open. "Hello? How can I help you two?" A woman greeted. She had large grey eyes that seemed to smile at everything they gazed at.

"Good afternoon, ma'am." Carisi said revealing his badge. "Are you Maria Marquina?"

"Yes, that's me!" She exclaimed, her eyes crinkling with sunshine.

"We're the police, may we come in?"

"What's happened? What's going on? Is it Dulce?" Her eyes became as wide as saucers. Like she was using them to absorb the scene.

"Dulce?"

"Yes…I…she's my daughter. Is my baby okay?"

"She's fine. Why wouldn't she be okay?" Rhya and Carisi shared a knowing glance.

"W-well…if you aren't here about her, then why are you here?"

"Could we come in first?"

"Oh! Right…yes, how rude of me." She took a step back so they could come in.

Rhya sat down on a cozy-looking couch. It tried to swallow her and she struggled to regain her balance. It seemed like the sort of couch that you fell asleep on no matter how wide you kept your eyes open.

"So, could we ask you some questions about your husband, Jose?" Maria seemed even more confused though Rhya did not notice any guilt on her face.

"Why?" She asked as she brought them a tray of Fanta.

"How is your husband doing?" Rhya asked not answering the woman's question at all.

"He is doing okay. We have been a little stressed lately but…what is happening?"

"Has your husband spent a lot of time with Cara lately?"

"Eh…yes…Dulce drops her off every morning and we take care of her till she returns." Upon seeing their inquiring faces, she continued. "She says she is looking for a job."

"You don't seem to believe her." Rhya took a long swig of Fanta, the orange soda sizzling pleasantly down her throat. She hadn't drunk Fanta ages.

"I pray to Dios that she is but I know my daughter. It's her new novio. She is already going down a bad path, but he isn't helping."

Rhya didn't mention that Enrique and Dulce had broken up. "How so?"

Abuela frowned as though she were in pain. "I do not want to talk about my daughter anymore. I just wish you would explain what is going on."

Carisi shifted in his seat, obviously uncomfortable. "We'll tell you more information as the case progresses, ma'am."

"Wait, what?! What are you doing? Where are you going?"

The two officers ignored her but just as Rhya was about to open the door, Maria grabbed her arm. "Ma'am—"

"This is about my grandbebé isn't it? _Please_ , if this is about Cara, take care of her. I worry for my baby. Both of my babies."

"Okay, we'll do our best."

The woman let Rhya's arm slip away, tears flowing down her cheeks. "Protect my babies."

As they walked back to the car, Carisi spoke up. "We need to tell the others about Dulce _now_. There is no doubt in my mind that she's the real problem here."

"We still haven't even talked to Jose. Olivia will think we're trying to dirty her up."

"There is a chance she beats up her child. We can't just keep that to ourselves. Didn't you see, Maria? If not for justice, do it for her."

 **(SUNDAY) MARCH 29TH 1:40 PM**

 **SVU STATION**

"So you talked to someone without telling me?" Olivia asked the two officers.

"Yes, we wanted to investigate further before bringing you the information." Rhya said.

"Uh-huh."

"To make sure our hunches were right." Carisi added.

"Right."

"Olivia, Dulce might be the one we should be looking into!"

"Because the neighbor told you a rumor?"

"He saw it firsthand and the least we could do is be a little more careful." Carisi countered. "We should dig more into her, it couldn't hurt."

"There's no need. I'm not going to perpetuate the possibility that the victim is lying. We trust our victims here."

"That's just it! Dulce isn't the victim, Olivia. _Cara_ is! We need to protect her."

"I've already contacted Jose Marquina. He's coming down for questioning. It couldn't hurt to look into the actual suspect of the case, right?"

…

Rhya watched, worriedly, as Olivia interrogated Jose from behind the double glass.

"So, Jose, you own your own store?"

"Yes," The older man answered, smiling with pride. "I sell all kinds of things. We even got Jarritos and everyone loves those. Especially the homesick mexicanos."

"How long do you generally work?"

"It depends. I work all day Sundays but during the weekends, my employees work."

"So, do you have a lot of time to spend with your family during the week?"

"In the afternoon, yes. My daughter drops off my grand-darling, Cara, and we play in the backyard. Maria watches from the porch swing and—"

"Alright, that's quite alright Mr. Marquina. How much time would you say you spend with Cara?"

Jose thought about it for a while. "You know what I just realized? I have to go!"

"I'm sorry?" He abruptly stood up and knocked on the door. "Could I leave, please?"

Rhya opened it to Olivia's great disapproval. "Mr. Marquina, where are you going?" Olivia wished she could stop him but they didn't have enough grounds to arrest the man. He was free to go.

"I am late for my McDonald's run!" He called as he rushed out the station.

Olivia's face wrinkled.

…

"Okay, so he's travelling down Markston Boulevard. Traffic isn't too bad so he'll probably make it to McDonald's in…five minutes?" Olivia calculated from the police car she was using to trail Jose. She spoke to the other officers through the walkie-talkie.

"You think he's up to something?" Rollins asked from the station.

"Of course he is. Okay, we're turning a corner."

"What do you think he's going to do?" Rhya wondered aloud.

"Find Cara? His wife? Maybe he's trying to leave the country. Okay, we're actually here…at McDonald's."

A spark of hope ignited in Rhya. Perhaps Olivia would see that Jose could possibly just be a friendly, family man.

"He's going in."

Rhya turned to Carisi who hadn't said a word. "Do you think he's actually up to anything?" She whispered so Olivia couldn't hear.

He snorted. "Come on. What kind of excuse is a McDonald's run? He was probably serious."

"He left an interrogation to eat." She giggled which amused Carisi.

"Okay, he's leaving."

Every couple of minutes or so, Olivia would give an update:

"He's turning back on Markston Boulevard."

"Stoplight."

"He's parked his car on the side of Sunshine Street."

"He has? What is he doing?" Amanda asked.

"He's…he's…giving burgers to homeless people."

"Really?" Rhya tried her best to hold in laughter.

Olivia did not seem to share her amusement. "They always show themselves as community staples but it's all a façade. I'm on my way back, guys. Keep looking into Jose."

Once the walkie-talkie turned off, Carisi pulled Rhya aside. "We need to look into Dulce now. Olivia clearly doesn't believe us."

"Let's go then."

They rushed to her desk. "Okay, I'll look in the CPSC database."

"Good, now what?"

"I'm guessing the New York state folder?"

"Okay…next?"

"Uh…New York City…"

"This is a long process."

"Patience, youngling. Now we probably click Manhattan files."

"Oh, there you go. Click parental files."

"Here's Dulce's file…"

They growled in unison.

"She was reported by Jose and still got custody anyway?"

"This was 3 years ago too, just like Carlos said."

"Carlos didn't report her but her parents did."

"Clearly Dulce is getting her revenge."

"What is wrong with child services?!" Rhya exclaimed.

 **(SUNDAY) MARCH 29TH 2:14 PM**

 **CHILD PROTECTION AND SERVICES CENTER (CPSC)**

After further research, the pair had discovered who Cara's caseworker was. Rhya was prepared to grill her out.

"Hello, NYPD. We need to talk to Aria Burton, please?"

The receptionist shrugged. "Sure, she's in her office. Down the hall. Third room to the left."

Aria's office was cluttered to the brim. Boxes of paperwork stacked as high as her desk. "Hello, Aria. NYPD. May we speak with you?" The woman flinched, so absorbed in her paperwork she hadn't even noticed them enter.

She pushed up her glasses, clearly shocked by the visit. "Uh…yes? I mean, what's wrong?"

"You were the caseworker assigned to Cara Marquina, right?"

"Wh-Who?"

"Who. What do you mean who?"

"I have a lot of cases. I meet a lot of faces. Who is that?"

"A girl who was abused by her mother. Her grandfather, Jose Marquina, reported her. Cara was under your care at some point."

"Hmm" Aria turned back to her computer. "Let me search it up." Rhya and Carisi shared another one of their knowing glances.

Oh! Cara! Yes, she ended up back with her mother."

"Why would you allow that?"

"She had learned how to be a good mother. She went through proper procedure, tests, she had a job. She had learned what was right and what was wrong."

"Dulce doesn't have a job." Carisi muttered.

"Well, she did when I was working on the case. We're trying to keep families together. Not break them up."

"How can you say that with a straight face? That's bull." Carisi snarled. "All you wanted was to get the case over with. That's how it is with all of you caseworkers."

Aria seemed completely taken aback though she recovered swiftly. "Listen, I don't ring in 50 hours a week to be treated like this. I have a lot of work, this is a situation I deemed safe for the child to enter."

"Somehow, I don't trust your judgement."

"Do you think this stuff is so easy? How about you sit here while they bring you these boxes of paperwork every day!"

"That's the job you signed up for. If you couldn't handle it, you should have done something else. And now you might have just ruined a child's life." Rhya said.

"Why are you even here?" The woman asked red in the face as she struggled to keep her anger hidden.

"What did Dulce do to her kid?"

"What?"

"What does the report say."

Aria slowly looked back at her computer. She let out a small groan. "Dulce…hit her…bruising…"

Carisi nodded. "Yeah, definitely a safe situation. Are you willing to testify in court that Dulce is untrustworthy?"

"No! I could lose my job! Imagine how bad the CPSC would look!"

"That's all you care about?" Carisi laughed without humor. "Alright, have a nice day. I hope you sleep at night."

 **This is the longest story on this site that I've written...**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10!**

 **...**

 **(SUNDAY) MARCH 29TH 2:37 PM**

 **SVU STATION**

"Where were you." Olivia asked upon Rhya and Carisi's arrival.

Rhya swallowed. "We're on to something, Olivia. Three years ago, Jose and Maria reported Dulce for child abuse. We have three witnesses to this."

"I thought I told you not to."

"Olivia," Carisi said. "I understand that you want to trust Dulce but clearly we can't."

The Lieutenant sighed, stuffing her hands in her pockets. "The test results came back in…"

"What-what did you find?" Rhya wondered why Olivia seemed so sullen.

She chuckled. "Nothing…absolutely nothing…" She continued, filling the silence. "Dulce never specified what he'd done. Maybe he just touched the kid…maybe he is abusive…"

"Olivia…"

"You were right when you said Cara was the victim, not Dulce. So, I'm willing to look into this some more. Do you two have some sort of plan?"

Carisi scratched at his neck. "She…uh flirted with me before. I think she likes me. I could…talk to her. Get her to trust me."

"So that's why you had her phone number?" Rhya asked. He raised his eyebrows.

"Okay, good. Pretend we're still investigating Jose. Call her and say you're coming over to give an update."

"And after the update…what do I do?"

"We're trying to prove she's abusive. If you see anything suspicious, remember it. We need anything that implies abuse."

"Okay. Got it."

 **(MONDAY) MARCH 30TH 7:23 AM**

 **D.A.'S OFFICE**

"Hi Barba." Rhya said as she entered the D.A.'s office.

He immediately dropped his pen to look at her. "Rhya."

"We have a new case for you," She began.

"What happened?"

"Well, there's this girl, Cara, and her mother reported her grandfather for sexual abuse."

He nodded. "Is that all?"

"Nope…"

…

"So…Olivia is on board with this?"

"She's a bit skeptical but willing to look into it further."

"You know…Dulce is funny…" He chuckled.

"What do you mean?"

"It's ironic."

Rhya sat in front of his deck, intrigued. "How? What does it mean?"

"In Spanish it means sweet." He murmured, smiling at her with his eyes.

"That's funny…say something in Spanish." She grinned.

He grinned back. " _Tienes una sonrisa hermosa_ …"

"What does that mean?"

"It means your hair is black."

Rhya frowned. "Really? It doesn't sound like that…"

He coughed. "It doesn't…sound like that…?"

"Sometimes with language you can feel the meaning behind it…you know?"

He blinked. "Well, that's what it means."

"You have a beautiful smile." She said, looking him dead in the eye. He froze, saying nothing. "I remember a little bit from high school Spanish."

He groaned.

"You have been outsmarted!" She cried, throwing up her hands as he shook his head at her. "So, Rafael, can you work with this?

"Sure, I'll have to pull an all-nighter, maybe."

"Why?"

"I had to leave early because a certain someone needed company."

She giggled. " _You_ asked _me_ to go out. Not the other way around."

He rolled his eyes.

"How about we make up Saturday's cancelled date?"

"Date?" He asked, his eyes wide.

She ignored him. "Tonight. In…" She looked at her watch. "Approximately 12 hours. I could meet you here?"

"I have work, Rhya. Remember…my all-nighter?"

"Oh…yeah…right…" She frowned. "I'll get more evidence for you then."

He grabbed her arm as she got up to leave. "Wait, Rhya."

"Yeah?"

"Did you say date?"

" _Rafael_."

"Okay, okay!" He laughed. "How about Wednesday? 9 PM?"

She smirked at him. "Is it a date?"

"Yeah…"

Rhya felt the heat rising up her neck. The excitement rushing up her spine. "Oh…alright…I'll see you then, Barba."

"Bye Rhya."

"Bye."

 **(TUESDAY) MARCH 31** **st** **3:00 PM**

 **MARQUINA [DULCE] RESIDENCE**

Carisi gulped audibly before knocking on Dulce's door. He could feel people staring at him from their windows. He had no business here, a white cop in a Latino neighborhood.

It was the second day he was coming back and he still felt incredibly uncomfortable. Last time, Cara hadn't been home. Dulce said the girl was at a friend's house. Nothing much came out of that visit except Dulce trying to get Carisi to kiss her.

And now he was here for the second day.

The door opened. Dulce smiled wickedly when she saw him. "Hi there…"

"Uh…hello. May I come in?"

She nodded. "Of course." She swayed as she moved to the side.

Dang it, she was drunk.

Inside the home, Carisi sat at his designated chair. Cara ran from the kitchen where she had been grabbing a treat. She cowered in the hallway because she wasn't supposed to be there when Officer Carisi came to visit.

"So Dommie…are you going spend the night this time?"

"Aw, come on, Dulce. You know I'm not." He chuckled nervously.

She pouted. "Why not? You never spend the night. You have a girlfriend, don't you?"

"Dulce I—"

"Don't lie…" She whispered.

"Dulce—"

"Do _not_ lie to me!" She shrieked. She fell into a chair across from him. "If you didn't have a girlfriend…you'd spend the night…"

"Alright, Dulce, I think I'm going to leave now. I'll see you tomorrow."

"If you don't stay here, I am going to get very angry…" She slurred, gripping the table.

Carisi looked behind the woman. Cara was still in the hallway, scared because they both knew what her mother could do.

Carisi sat back down. "Okay, Dulce. I'll stay."

After some time of Dulce just touching his hand and smiling at him, she sat up abruptly. "Cara!"

The small girl came immediately. "Yes mamá?"

"Get me a pack of cigarettes."

Carisi tried to intervene. "Hey, come on, Dulce. I can get them for you—"

"No! Cara get my damn cigarettes!"

Cara raced to the counter, picking up the box there. "H-here mamá." But the poor girl was shaking so hard the cigarettes fell out of her hands.

"Que idiota!" Dulce stood up in her drunken haze. "Pick it up!"

"Dulce." Carisi got up, trying to deescalate the situation.

As the little girl bent to pick up the cigarettes, Dulce pushed her. "Idiot!" The girl screamed as she fell backward and her head hit the edge of the counter. She was unconscious by the time she hit the floor.

"What is wrong with you?!" Carisi grabbed Dulce and slammed her against the table, handcuffing her.

"Hey…what's the deal? Why are you arresting me?"

He left Dulce on the table and ran to Cara. Fortunately, her mother was too drunk to move. "I'm so sorry Cara…" He murmured as he picked up the unconscious girl. He called in for back up.

 **(TUESDAY) MARCH 31** **st** **4:02 PM**

 **SVU STATION**

Olivia frowned. "She hasn't said a word since we arrested her."

"Seriously? Is she waiting for an attorney?" Rhya asked.

"Nope," Carisi said. "She just won't say a word. I'll try and get her to talk again."

Dulce glared at him as he entered the interrogation room. "You betrayed me!"

"You betrayed your daughter when you pushed her into a counter!" He shouted.

Rhya looked at Olivia who was expressionless. "I would like to apologize." She said. "For being so adamant about Dulce. I trust my victims very easily but I forgot that Dulce wasn't the victim in this scenario."

Rhya smiled. "It's fine. I get it."

"Mm…"

"I'm going to check up on Cara, see if she's okay."

 **(TUESDAY) MARCH 31** **st** **4:26 PM**

 **CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL**

"Where is Cara Marquina?" Rhya asked the receptionist.

"Who are you?"

"Rhya Mace, NYPD." She showed her badge.

The man pointed down the hall.

When Rhya got to the room, the doctor was already there. "We're only admitting family right now." He said.

"Her mother is the one who did this to her. I'm police."

"Does she have any other close family?"

"Yeah…actually…she does."

...

"Hi guys. Are you alright?"

Maria's large eyes blinked at her. "Are _we_ alright? What about my baby? You said you were going to protect her!"

Jose touched his wife's arm. "What happened? Tell us!"

"Dulce was trying to get you arrested for sexual abuse, Jose."

The man faltered. "Wh-what? I would never! By Dios, I love my children, I would never—"

"Is this why you were at my house before? Because you thought he did it?" Maria interrupted.

"Wait…when were you at my house?" Jose asked.

Rhya continued. "Then, we found out what Dulce did to Cara."

Maria blinked. "She did it again…didn't she?"

"Dulce pushed Cara and she hit her head on the counter."

"Ayy!" Maria grimaced as if she was in pain. "How could she do this? Her own baby!"

"Please," Jose begged. "Let us see our granddarling."

…..

"My baby…" Maria rushed to Cara's side, clutching her hands.

"Is this the family you were talking about?" The doctor whispered to Rhya. He seemed a little alarmed.

"Yes. They're her grandparents." She murmured.

"Okay, do you mind leaving? It's still family only."

Rhya nodded and left, looking from the window. She watched as Cara woke up. The girl was somewhat disoriented but as soon as she realized her grandparents were there, she visibly brightened. Maria and Jose kept hugging and kissing her, much to the doctor's chagrin.

Rhya smiled.

…

 **(WEDNESDAY) APRIL 1** **st** **3:29 PM**

 **COURT HOUSE MEETING ROOM**

Rafael strategically eyed Dulce and her lawyer. The woman looked tired but inwardly furious. Her public defense attorney, Jacob McAdams, seemed overwhelmed and unprepared for this case.

Barba knew he had a lot of leverage here.

The defense attorney spoke first. "Dulce has some news she would like to share."

"News?" Barba inquired.

She stared at him disdainfully. "I don't want the kid anymore."

"So, you want to relinquish parental rights?"

"Yeah, I guess. All I know is that I can't take care of her anymore."

Rafael nodded. "Alright, I'll draw up the contracts as soon as possible."

Jacob wagged his finger. "But, there is one condition."

"You can't give her to my parents." Dulce said.

"Why? They're willing, capable, and loving."

"Yeah, "loving" sure. Listen, I don't want to be her momma but they sure as hell can't either."

Barba shook his head. "Mmm…no, I'm not agreeing to that. Plead guilty to criminal negligence and relinquish parental rights to your parents. That's the deal."

"No! They will not have her!"

Rafael raised an eyebrow. "Fine, but if you don't take it, we go to court. Charges are child abuse, assault, negligence and maybe I'll throw in attempted murder for pushing her head into a counter." He shrugged as if it made no difference to him.

"What? You can't let him do that!" Dulce cried, turning to her lawyer.

The man looked incredibly flustered. "B-Barba, come on—attempted murder?"

"I have enough evidence to do it. But, even if the jury throws out that accusation, you'll still have a lot of jail time to look forward to."

Dulce growled. " _Okay_ …God…they can take her…I didn't try to kill the brat. But fine, you win!"

"And just so we're clear," McAdams said. "The charge is just going to be criminal negligence."

"Yep," Barba nodded.

"Okay, you got yourself a deal."

"Good."

 **...**

 **:)**

 **Hopefully, the next update will be shorter. I got kind of busy with school.**


	11. Chapter 11

**WARNING: TONS OF RHYA AND BARBA INTERACTION COMING UP!**

 **AND WHEN I SAY TONS, I MEAN _TONS_.**

 **….**

 **(WEDNESDAY) APRIL 1st 4:01 PM**

 **D.A.'S OFFICE**

Barba waited patiently for Rhya who was supposed to meet him outside his office. She wanted an update on the meeting.

"Hey!" She called as she neared him.

"Hi," He said. "How are you?"

"I'm good. I'm just glad Cara is okay. She finally woke up."

"That's great."

"Yup." She smiled. "So…how'd it go?"

"Good actually. Dulce had an overworked public defense attorney, it made for an easy fight."

Rhya snorted. "No fair."

"Hey, that's the game. Anyway, Cara's grandparents get parental rights and she pleads guilty to criminal negligence."

"Only negligence…?"

"I know, I know. But I didn't want to go to court and put Cara through a trial. I needed a deal they'd accept. And Dulce doesn't get parental rights, she doesn't even want Cara. They'll never see each other again."

"Alright, I guess it's for the best."

Rafael nodded, looking around before pulling her into another hallway. "So, are you ready?" He asked.

She laughed. "For our date?"

He had a sly smile on his face. "Wear something nice."

"Nice?"

"I'm taking you somewhere nice."

"What, are these clothes not nice?" She teased.

He smiled at her work outfit. "Of course they are, when I say nice I mean fancy."

"So…where are you taking me?"

"It's a surprise."

"What? Aww…please tell me?"

"No, then it wouldn't be a surprise anymore." She pouted which made it hard for him to keep resisting.

Fortunately he held out and she huffed. "Fine…"

"You're going to love it," He assured.

"I know." She said, beaming at him.

 **(WEDNESDAY) APRIL 1st 9:00 PM**

 **MACE RESIDENCE**

Rhya nervously waited outside her apartment, the cold breezing over her legs. She hoped she dressed nice enough. Or did she overdress?

A sleek car pulled up on the side of the road. _He's here._ She thought nervously.

"Rhya…" He faltered as he got out of his car.

She felt her cheeks burning up. "Yes…?"

Quick as lightning, he pulled her to him, so their bodies meshed together. "You're beautiful." He whispered. She could feel his hands on her silky, black dress, burning through the fabric and setting her skin on fire.

She tried not to concentrate on the fact that he was tracing light circles on her waist. "Rafael…I'm…"

"Beautiful…" He looked into her eyes, knowing, as usual, everything she was feeling, everything she was thinking. "So beautiful." He whispered again as if he couldn't believe it.

"Rafael…" She tried to speak in full sentences but she felt like she couldn't breathe. "P-please…"

Realizing how flustered he was making her, he let go immediately. "Yeah…yeah…let's go…"

 _How does he have such a huge effect on me?_ She wondered as she entered his car.

 _How is it possible for someone to be so beautiful?_ He wondered, closing the door behind her.

 **(WEDNESDAY) APRIL 1st 9:30 PM**

 **ALGOSTINI'S**

Rhya gasped. "Algostini's?! This place is so expensive!" Barba raises both his eyebrows as if to say _no kidding_. "H-how?"

He chuckled, opening the door. "After you."

She curtsied. "Why, thank you!"

"Last name?" The waiter at the front of the restaurant didn't even bother saying hello. He got right to business.

"Barba." Rafael said.

After looking through a list, he nodded. "Right on time, Mr. Barba. Follow me."

The waiter led them to a reserved room, isolated from the main area of the restaurant. "Your seats."

Rhya sat down at the booth, still gaping. Rafael sat across from her. "How?!"

He grinned. "I helped out the owner of the restaurant."

"You helped Algostini?"

"Let's just say I saved him from some serious jail time."

Rhya squealed in excitement. "This is amazing! You even got us our own room?

"Yeah…" They smiled at each other and Rhya could feel her heart pounding against her chest.

The waiter returned with a menu. "What can I get the lovely couple?"

Rhya looked at Rafael who sent her a wicked grin. She looked back at the menu. _Wow, there are a lot of words on this thing._ "I…uh…I'll get…" She swallowed. She'd forgotten that fancy restaurants always used fancy titles.

"She'll have the lobster bisque. And so will I." Barba said.

Rhya blinked. "Uh…yeah…" The waiter wrinkled his face haughtily but wrote it down.

"I will be right back with your orders." The waiter lied, grabbing the menus before he left.

Rhya avoided Rafael's gaze, completely embarrassed. "Sorry…" She mumbled.

He started laughing. "Rhya," He said. "You are… so adorable…"

"Stop it. You're making me blush."

He seemed confused. "You're blushing?"

"You can't tell?"

He moved a hand to her cheek. "Your cheek is warm." He noted.

Rhya felt her face flush even more. He was doing that thing where he looked deep into her eyes again. "You know what I'm thinking…don't you?"

He simply leaned closer. She stopped talking so she wouldn't ruin the moment. His face was getting dangerously close.

She parted her lips slightly, about to close all the space between them when her stomach hit the table, stopping just a breath away from his face. She grunted as her insides heaved. She couldn't tell if it was because of the pain or nervousness. "Oof."

"Damn it." He murmured, realizing he should have sat next to her.

"Rafael…I really…" She tried to articulate the best she could. "I like you so much…"

"You'll like the bisque too. I promise." He said snarkily.

"Rafael!"

He grinned wide. "I like you too Rhya…you're amazing…"

She really wanted to kiss him.

" _Ahem_." They looked to their left. The waiter was standing there, clearly irritated. He placed mug-size bowls of soup on the table.

When the waiter left, Rhya waggled her eyebrows at Rafael. "How is this dinner?"

"It's not. As soon as you finish your soup, I'm taking you somewhere less fancy."

"Where?"

"Finish your soup first."

 **(WEDNESDAY) APRIL 1st 10:04 PM**

 **WILDENPARK BOULEVARD**

As they left the restaurant, Barba set his hand on Rhya's waist, holding her close to him.

She did like this a lot.

They walked down the street, sometimes talking, sometimes silent. She didn't care, she just loved being around him. And it seemed like he enjoyed being around her too.

"Here we are." He said.

"McDonalds!?" She exclaimed with a mixture of shock and amusement.

Barba laughed and pulled her to him. Their faces once again were inches apart. "Oh!"

"Hi." He whispered.

She let out a soft sigh as his lips closed in, covering her own. She leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his neck, as his soft lips pressed against hers.

After they pulled apart, Rhya felt wonderfully dizzy, a stupid smile on her face. He dove in for another kiss, this time angling his head to deepen it.

When they pulled away again, she felt like she was floating. How could kisses be this great? Why hadn't she kissed him earlier?

Barba smiled at her, his warm gaze melting her heart. "Do you want McDonalds now?"

She looked at him incredulously. "You're ruining the moment!"

He laughed. "Okay, I'm sorry. Let's go eat though, I'm hungry." He grabbed her hand and they walked into the fast food restaurant together.

 **(WEDNESDAY) APRIL 1st 10:13 PM**

 **MCDONALD'S**

As the two sat, side-by side, in the booth, eating their Big Macs, everyone stared. "We're overdressed." Rhya said, noting that some of the customers were wearing pajamas.

"Don't worry." Rafael said. "They're just jealous that I have such a beautiful date."

"Rafael!" She giggled, embarrassed, as he kissed her forehead.

"Anyway, you were saying that you were 5 hours late to work?"

"Yup…I didn't know we were supposed to work the weekends."

"Did you think that crime went on vacation?" Barba teased.

"Do you know how many times I have heard that?"

"What gave you that idea anyway?"

"In Little Rock, they gave me Saturdays and Sundays off."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, but I realized that they were just trying to keep me from work." She said, immediately realizing she'd given him and opening into her past yet again.

"Why did they want to keep you from work?"

"I…I'd rather not get into it right now."

"Alright." He said.

 _Thank you for not pushing it_.

She leaned her head onto his shoulder as they sat in the booth in silence, relishing each other's company.

 **(WEDNESDAY) APRIL 1st 10:49 PM**

 **MACE RESIDENCE**

"Tonight was wonderful." Rhya said, looking up at Barba.

"We should do it again." He murmured in agreement.

"Yeah…" She said. "And guess what?"

"What?"

"You're actually quite a bad kisser."

His eyes widened in shock and confusion. "I…I'm…s-sorry…?"

She stared at him seriously but her lips wavered. She could barely contain her laughter. "April fool's!"

He blinked, clearly relieved. "Today is…? Oh…thank goodness…I thought you were…"

"Serious? No way."

He shook his head. "You're going to give me a heart attack one of these days."

"Did I scare you that bad?"

"Yes. Don't do it again." He ordered playfully.

She grinned, stepping on her tippy-toes to meld their lips together once more.

 **….**

 **WOW, that was a lot of fluff…**


	12. NOTE

Sorry the update is taking so long, guys! I've been busy with Spring Break and all. I promise I haven't abandoned the story. I'll try my best to update soon enough.


	13. Chapter 12

**Finally, I've written out Chapter 12! This story was difficult to create a plan for because it was pretty complex.**

 **Alright so I really want to explain why Rhya left Little Rock! We're about to find out what happened! Warning, some controversial things in here so just be prepared for that…**

 **Issues like these are very complex and it definitely isn't black or white. Ultimately, the story swings one way but it's not always like this in real life. Sometimes, these things are warranted, sometimes they are not.**

 **Also remember, I chose the Little Rock PD because I just did. This story is fiction and doesn't reflect their policies or treatment of officers at all. I probably should have just made up a city but oh well…**

 **STREET NAMES ARE MADE UP!**

 **COURT CASES BASED ON PRIOR KNOWLEDGE (VERY LITTLE) AND EPISODES OF SVU.**

...

 **(THURSDAY) APRIL 2** **nd** **8:32 AM**

 **SVU STATION**

Rhya giddily walked to the break room, her mug in hand. She buzzed with energy as memories of the night before flooded her thoughts.

"Someone looks happy." She turned, still smiling, as Rollins walked into the break room.

"I am happy today."

"It's Barba, isn't it?"

Rhya choked on the air she was inhaling at that moment. "H-how did you?"

"I was the one who gave you his call, remember?"

"Oh…yeah…but how did you know we…?"

"Went on a date? Well it's all over your face."

"Oh…" Rhya felt her cheeks warm, embarrassed it was so obvious.

Rollins smirked at her as Carisi came in. He immediately noticed something was going on. "What's up with you, Rhya?"

"Like I said, it's all over your face." Amanda said as Rhya stared at Carisi in shock.

"What's all over her face?" He asked.

Amanda spoke up so Rhya didn't have to stutter through a shy explanation of last night. "She went on a date, it's why she's so giddy today."

Carisi grinned. "You scored a date? Already? You don't wait to get right to it, do you?"

"Carisi!" Rhya exclaimed, punching him in the shoulder.

He laughed. "Who's the lucky guy?"

"Rafael." She whispered.

Carisi's jaw dropped in astonishment. He looked to Amanda who nodded her head. "No way!"

"I know, right?" She said. "Barba isn't as emotionless as we thought!"

"Emotionless? What do you mean?" Rhya asked, not understanding how Rafael could possibly be an emotionless robot.

Carisi pushed his hand into his pockets as he began to explain. "Barba's kind of…serious..."

"Not kind of—always." Amanda interjected, snorting.

Carisi rolled his eyes. "He's the _last_ person I'd expect you to have gone on a date with. Let alone enjoyed it."

"Guys…" Rhya said, pretending to stir creamer in her coffee.

Carisi gave her a playful shove. "We're just messing with you, Rhya. He's all suit and tie on the outside—"

Rhya smiled softly. "You mean suspenders?"

"Yeah, he's suspenders on the outside but he's all soft and gooey on the inside. Or at least, I think he is."

"He very much is."

 **(THURSDAY) APRIL 2** **nd** **10:16 AM**

 **SVU STATION**

Rhya peered away from her computer as Olivia walked to the middle of the station. "An announcement!" She called.

Everyone went silent, awaiting the news.

"We got a tip. After further investigating it, we realized it had merit."

"What's the tip about?" Someone asked.

"A pedophile ring downtown. The meeting's tonight."

 **(THURSDAY) APRIL 2** **nd** **7:27 PM**

 **WOODRIDGE APARTMENT COMPLEX**

"Alright, we bust in on my count," Olivia whispered to the large team of officers waiting behind her. "Three…two…one…"

They burst through the apartment door.

"Don't let anyone get away!" She called out as the entire room exploded.

It was chaotic as the party dispersed immediately, jumping out of their seats as they tried to escape. Rhya noticed the significant number of teenage girls there, distressed and confused.

"Hey! What's the deal? We weren't doing anything!" One much older looking man asked as he was handcuffed.

"Let me guess, these girls are your daughters?" Olivia asked sarcastically.

Rhya managed to catch one would-be escapee. He was a lot bigger than her which made it hard to pin him down.

"I'll help with that." Carisi chuckled, grabbing his arms and taking over.

"Thanks…" She said. He laughed at her irritated expression. "I had him, you know."

"Right."

She huffed and turned around to see if her skills could be of use elsewhere. As she looked around, she saw a flicker of a shadow rush down the hallway. She wasn't sure if she was imagining it.

"Come on! We've got a runner!" An officer grabbed her arm and pulled her down the hallway in pursuit.

"Hey!" She realized it was Eric Johnson, an officer from a different precinct who was helping in the raid. "You think someone is escaping?"

Eric nodded. "Look!"

Through an open door they could see a person rushing out the room window and down the fire escape stairs.

They followed out the window, speeding down the steps as the suspect continued to run away.

As the person sprinted, their hoodie flew off their head and Rhya could see they were chasing a male. "Hey!" She called.

He ignored her, racing down the alley way. Across from the Woodridge Apartment Complex was the Peals Apartment Complex.

"He's heading for the doors to the other compound!" Eric shouted.

The man screeched in front of the door, his back turned as he sought to take something out of his pocket.

"Stop! Don't move!" Eric warned as they neared him. Rhya realized that the officer's gun was out, his finger carefully resting on the trigger.

The person turned halfway around, pulling something shiny out of his jeans.

A flash of metal.

And suddenly bullets were coming out of Eric's gun.

One.

Two.

Three.

The man slumped to the ground with a groan.

"Eric!" Rhya could see Eric's arms were shaking. She stared at him in horror. "You shot him!"

Eric swallowed. "He was going to shoot us. Didn't you see the flash?"

Rhya blinked. "It was a gun?"

"Definitely. He was going to shoot us."

"Call for back-up! And an ambulance!" She said as she rushed to the man. He was face down on the asphalt, but made a grunting sound. "Oh, thank goodness, you're alive." She said, taking off her jacket to wrap around his badly bleeding leg. Her arms seemed to be vibrating as she tried to stop the blood flow.

 _Please be okay._ She begged.

 **(THURSDAY) APRIL 2** **nd** **7:38 PM**

 **WOODRIDGE APARTMENT COMPLEX**

The ambulance had finally arrived.

"It was smart of you to wrap your jacket around his leg." Eric said matter-of-factly.

Rhya nodded as the paramedics took the man away on a stretcher. As they passed her, she realized that the man was not a man.

But a boy.

"You gonna let that him get away with shooting another black kid? I thought we were supposed to stick together." He managed to wheeze as they whisked him away.

She choked. "Wh-what?"

"Excuse me?" Eric asked incredulously.

But he was already gone. Rhya stared at the stretcher in horror.

"Please tell me he didn't just say what I think he said."

"No…no." Rhya ran her hands through her hair. "This can't be happening."

"Hey guys." They turned as Olivia approached them. She'd just arrived. "What'd he say to you?"

Rhya answered before Eric could. "Nothing, he just said he wasn't part of the ring." She couldn't let Olivia question her loyalty.

Eric eyed her but said nothing to her relief.

"Was it a good shot, Eric?"

"Of course it was a good shoot. He had a gun."

Olivia nodded. "Alright, search the scene for a gun!" She called to the other officers. "Do you know what sort of gun it could have been?" She asked Eric.

He shook his head. "No. I just know that there was one."

Rhya slipped away from the group as they conversed. She tried to slow her racing thoughts to no avail.

This was bad.

This was really bad.

 **(THURSDAY) APRIL 2** **nd** **7:51 PM**

 **MERCY HOSPITAL**

"Rhya, what's wrong?" Carisi asked her. She didn't respond, too entrenched in her thoughts to hear him. "Rhya!" He gave her a little shake which snapped her out of her daze.

"Carisi? Yeah?"

He grabbed her shoulders and looked at her in concern. "Rhya, what's up."

"It was a bad shoot!" She blurted, covering her mouth immediately after the words slipped off her tongue.

"What? Why would you say that?"

"I don't know, Carisi. I don't…" She lowered her voice to a whisper. "I don't think…there was a gun…" Carisi seemed completely taken aback by her confession. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

She turned away from him just as a family arrived in the emergency room. A woman and a teenage boy. Probably the same age as the kid.

They talked to the doctors for a bit before approaching the room where the boy rested. The woman glared at Rhya and Carisi, a look that nearly knocked the wind out of her lungs. The woman entered while the boy stayed behind.

His eyes followed her oddly behind his large, thick-rimmed glasses. "Were you there?" He asked.

"I was part of the raid, yes."

"No…I mean, were you there when he was shot?" Her voice caught in her throat. Was it so obvious?

"That's my cousin, Jafari in there." He murmured. "This was a bad shoot. Shame on you." He said, almost in a scolding voice. She felt like a little girl again and her mother had just caught her trying to steal candy from the cupboard.

After he went inside, her guilt was replaced with anger and frustration. Without so much as an explanation, she walked away.

Leaving Little Rock had meant nothing. Everything had found a way to get to her anyway.

"Rhya! Where are you going?" Carisi shouted.

She ignored him and kept walking.

...

 **WOOOOOHHHOOOOO! I CAN'T WAIT FOR CHAPTER 13!**


End file.
